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Elements of Avatar: The Last Airbender
The film series took many elements from the show. The following is a list of elements taken from the original animated series which are otherwise omitted or changed: General *The main characters are Aang, Katara, and Sokka, for the hero side; Zuko and Iroh for the anti-hero side; and Zhao and Ozai for the villian side. *The scenes for Suki and her Kyoshi Warriors were shot but moved to the sequel, although we can see them in behind-the-scenes featurettes, glimpses of them in the deleted scenes, and their story was still in the novelization. Their costumes and weapons were similar but without the face paint. Rather than protecting the Kyoshi Island from intruders, they took over the roles for Jet and the Freedom Fighters. *Sokka's characterisation and depiction was closer to the episodes Jet (Episode) and possibly Bato of the Water Tribe. He had some funny moments but more serious, level-headed, and responsible. In a deleted scene, he was shown to be an adept fighter, which suggested why Pakku did not decline Sokka's offer to guard Yue at all times. *Aang's arrow was included but as form of an intricate tattoo. *Most of the pronunciations of names and terms are kept except for Aang, Sokka, Iroh, Avatar, and Agni ki Duel, which were given an Asian pronunciation. Note that Shyamalan pronunced Toph the same as the series in audio of the March 2011 Interview. *Elemental bendings and its associated martial arts forms were kept with some key changes: **Firebenders also can not generate their own fire, except for high-level Firebenders like Iroh, and mostly likely Azula and Ozai as well. **Air bending is more like Wind Release from Naruto, as suggested with Aang's deleted line that is still in the novelization: "We airbenders learn to feel the energy behind the wind, not just the breeze on our skin. It's all about controlling energy". Thus, Airbenders need to direct wind energy to move air unless they are high-level Airbenders like Aang. *Benders are a chosen few, i.e. "The powers to control the elements are bestowed upon a chosen few". Thus, non-benders are more prominent in the movie, engaging in fights with weapons or hand-to-hand combat. *A new composite character, the Dragon Spirit, takes on the role for Avatar Roku, Fang, Koh, and Guru Pathik. *As for hybrid animals, Momo and Appa, are depicted in the film, the latter without its arrow. Tiger Seals are mentioned, while Komodo Rhinos are depicted as giant Komodo dragons. *The Dragon Spirit suggested that Aang was unable to control his waterbending because Aang was feeling guilty for running away from being the Avatar, which led to the loss of his people. This was improvised from the episode The Guru, where Guru Pathik told him let go of his guilt to open his Water Chakra. *As in the animated series, only the Fire Nation had machines, which gave them a tactical advantage over the other nations. The machines depicted in the movie include the warship, the tank, the portable spinning drills, and the fire cannons. *The "Yip Yip" for Appa was included but only heard once in the movie. For the novelization, it was used several times. *Iroh's siege of Ba Sing Se was mentioned but reduced to 100 days instead of 600. The death of his unnamed son in the siege was also mentioned, but it is likely Lu Ten. The Boy In The Iceberg *Katara is shown apologizing frantically after splashing Sokka with water, as Sokka comes forward to beat her up or something. This is considered out-of-character for both. *Katara thought about their mom while waterbending, which she was strange to her. She did not make that statement in the series. *Right before Aang is discovered, Katara and Sokka are fishing in the series while in the movie, they are hunting for tigerseal. *How Aang is discovered is different from the series. In the series, Katara inadvertently frees Aang from the ice as she yells at her brother. Her anger manifests when she waterbends, breaking the iceberg surrounding the frozen Aang. After the ice is cracked open, Aang and Appa awaken. They ride back to the tribe on Appa’s back, with Appa swimming. In the movie, Sokka notices that the ice beneath them is glowing. The sphere rises up, cracking open the ice surface. He yells "Katara! Don’t touch that sphere!", but Katara proceeds to crack open the sphere and there is an explosion of light. The camera reveals a crater, where Aang and Appa lie unconscious. Katara and Sokka argue, then decide to bring them back to the village. *Zuko's introduction after witnessing the beam of light that shot through the sky in the series is shortened to simply him saying "Uncle, look!" in the movie. *Another difference is the size of the Southern Water Tribe. In the show, it is much smaller with no elderly men being seen at all. In the movie it is much bigger with some males being seen. *In the series, after Aang awakens, he wins over the hearts of the young children in the Water Tribe. He explores an abandoned Fire Nation ship with Katara and inadvertently sets off an explosion/flare. Sokka demands that Aang leave the village. When the Fire Nation arrives, Sokka is easily defeated by Zuko. It was then Aang allows himself to be captured. In the film, The Fire Nation arrives almost as soon as Aang awakens. Instead of charging the Fire Nation soldiers despite being obviously outnumbered and overpowered, Katara tells Sokka not to move. *Aang refuses to reveal his identity or name when Zuko demanded to know who he was. In the series, Aang revealed his identity in front of everyone present, including Katara and Sokka. *In the film, when Zuko demanded the Southern Water Tribe villagers to "bring him all the elderly", he did not specify the Avatar was rumored to be over a hundred years old by now. At least in the series, he drags Kanna as an example when he demanded for the Avatar. After that, he threatens the villagers with firebending, whereas in the film, the threat was done by a Fire Nation soldier. *In the film, Kanna somehow has knowledge about the Spirit World, unlike in the cartoon. *Once Aang is captured by Zuko, Iroh performs a test on Aang not used in the show where he places each of the four elements in front of him, noticing how they respond. This test was an invention of the film, presumably to establish what Aang is capable of, although it brings into question why they also include the test employed by the show where Aang instinctively chooses the four artifacts of the Avatar. *Aang never created an avalanche to destroy Zuko's ship, and Katara and Sokka never joined in to fight. In the film, Aang simply escapes, flying his glider to Appa, Katara and Sokka. *Aang and Zuko never fought during Aang's escape from Zuko's ship. A similar fight however, did occur once Aang awakens from his visit to the Spirit World while he was held captive by Zuko. That fight strangely consists of hand-to-hand combat, while actual bending only occurred right before Katara rescues Aang and freezes Zuko. The Southern Air Temple *Aang only revealed his name once he traveled to the Southern Air Temple with Katara and Sokka. *How Momo got his name was not mentioned. *In the series, Katara realizes Aang has no knowledge of the war at all, as she learns that he was trapped in the iceberg for one hundred years once they are in an abandoned Fire Navy ship. In the movie, it was after discovering the bodies of Aang's fellow Air Nomads. *In the series, only Monk Gyatso's body is found, together with numerous bodies of Fire Nation soldiers. In the movie, there are plenty of skeletons, which are implied to be that of Air Nomads. *Zuko never challenges Zhao to an Agni Kai duel. In the film, Zhao invited Zuko and Iroh for lunch. After Zhao publicly insults Zuko, Zuko walks by him and states, "One day you will bow before me." Then he walks away. Also, Zuko's confrontation with Zhao at the bridge is brief in the film version, as Iroh talks Zuko out of it. As a result, Zuko never had an Agni Kai duel with Zhao in both occasions. *Zuko is seen taking out a family photo showing Ozai with his trademark beard and long hair like in the cartoon, which is ironic considering his appearance in the film is clean-cut. Imprisoned and The Storm *In the series, Katara gives the Earthbenders their freedom, but Aang does that in the movie instead, and they're imprisoned on a rig out at sea so they don't Earthbend in the series; however in the movie they're imprisoned in a garden-variety landbound prison camp but still lose their hope. Also, Haru and his father Tyro are in the film, but they are noticeably younger and not named. *In the film, Katara accidentally freezes Sokka right before being imprisoned in the Earth Kingdom village. In the series, this happens while attempting to freeze Fire Nation soldiers in Zuko's ship. *The statue of Kyoshi can be found in the village where earthbending is forbidden, meaning that village and Kyoshi Island are in one location in the movie continuity. No much backstory is given for Kyoshi, just that "she likes games". *Sokka suggested that they travel to the North Pole, which was on the other side of the world, as his father told him about powerful waterbenders there who may be able to teach Aang. He also suggested visiting the small villages occupied by the Fire Nation along the way to start a change in the war. In the series, it was Aang who suggested going to the North Pole to Katara so that they can find a waterbending teacher, right before penguin sledding. Also, the visits to the villages in the series are either by coincidence or for supplies and shelter. *Many villages in the Earth Kingdom had fallen under Fire Nation control, but yet to conquer big cities like Ba Sing Se, although as of Book 1, the village where earthbending is forbidden is the only Fire Nation controlled one so far. *The Waterbending scroll was given to Katara by the former prisoners in the Earth Kingdom in the film, but she steals it from pirates in the series. *In the movie Aang gives one of the reasons for running away as being told he could never have a family. This contradicts the show where many previous avatars were shown to have wives/family and specifically it contradicts the show because in the film version this would mean that Zuko and Azula are not descendents of Roku. *Katara is clearly shown advertising the Avatar's return, something the cartoon equivalent would never do. *Ozai banished his son to chase after the Avatar; something in the series he never expected Zuko to succeed with. In other words, he banished him on a fool's errand to let him roam the world as a fool. In the movie; he seems to have really believed Zuko would succeed and return home a hero. *Zhao knew the Avatar was just a boy through Fire Nation spies, while in the series, it was through Zuko. *Iroh is shown to be foolish with his requests to Zuko, telling him to consider the pretty girls of the village. It is later, when the time is right or when they have been refugees like in Book 2, that Iroh attempts to tell Zuko to lay the hunt for the Avatar to rest. This is the time he even succeeds, as he knows he could win Zuko over at that time. On Iroh's remark, Zuko replied "We can think about the pretty girls after we capture the avatar.", something Zuko would never have said in the series. He'd have snapped harshly at his Uncle had he said something like this in Book 1. *In the film, Zuko asks a random boy in a tea shop to tell him how he received his scar and was banished from the Fire Nation by his own father. In the series, it was Iroh who tells Zuko's backstory to the crew. This is considered strange, as in the film, random villagers knew about Zuko's backstory whereas in the cartoon, even Zuko's crew thought Zuko got his scar after a training accident. *In the film, the 41st division suggested by a Fire Nation general to be used as "bait" are friends with Zuko. *Also, that same boy used the term "Agni kī Duel" instead of "Agni Kai". This can be written in Hindi as अग्नि की डूएल (Agni kī Dū'ēla) which literally translates to "Duel of Fire". Note that the Hindi word डूएल (dū'ēla) may have been adopted from the English language. For all words in Hindi, अग्नि की लड़ाई (Agni kī LaDDai) may be appropriate, which literally translates to "Fighting with Fire". *Ozai stated "I should bring your sister up here to beat you" right before he burned his son to teach him a lesson. The Blue Spirit *The reason Aang is captured by Zhao is not because he has to find a cure for Katara and Sokka, it is because he is found visiting the hall of Avatars in the Northern Air Temple. Likewise, The Mechanist and his village are not seen nor mentioned anywhere in the film. In place is an elderly Earth Kingdom villager, who is later revealed to be a spy. While Aang is brought to the Fire Nation fortress after being captured in the series, he is brought to the Northern Air Temple's prayer room in the movie. The presence of the airball court and a practice area as Aang is attacking Zhao's forces with the Blue Spirit implies that the Northern Air Temple is now a Fire Nation base. In fact, the airball court and the hall of Avatars are originally located in the Southern Air Temple in the series. *In the film the Air Temple Sanctuary with statues of all previous Avatars has a statue of the most recent airbending Avatar, which looks male. In the series, this is Avatar Yangchen, who is a female. *A kneeling down ceremony is conducted when a new Avatar is crowned, which is something that is not from the series. Aang did not bow back when he was named the Avatar, and treats it as an issue for some reason. *The message given to Aang in the movie is vastly different from the series. In the series, Avatar Roku told Aang that Sozin's Comet will come by the end of summer and Aang must master all the elements in time. In the movie, the Dragon Spirit (who represented Roku in the movie, even though a statue of him is visible in the Air Temple Sanctuary) told Aang that it has seen a vision of the moon turning red and that The Fire Nation has stolen scrolls from Wan Shi Tong's library in order to misuse knowledge from it. It also warned Aang to go to the Northern Water Tribe immediately. *As the Blue Spirit, Zuko uses an equivalent of a diesel truck to sneak into the fortress by hanging underneath instead of a supply cart like in the series. *The Blue Spirit mask in the film also came with hair, unlike the one in the series. *The Yu Yan archers are never depicted in the film. Instead, the Blue Spirit is taken down by a scared-looking Fire Nation archer. *In the series, Zuko regains consciousness after being hit by a Yu Yan archer, and Aang tells him of a story about his friend from 100 years ago named Kuzon from the Fire Nation and wonders if he had known Zuko back then if they would be friends. Zuko responds by attacking Aang with a fire blast. In the film, Aang is already gone once Zuko regains consciousness. Aang did however state that he and Zuko could have been friends once he partially unfreezes an encased Zuko. The Waterbending Master * In the series, when Aang, Katara, Sokka arrived at the Northern Water Tribe city, a feast was held to celebrate the arrival of Katara and Sokka, which Aang being honored as a special guest. The 16th birthday of the princess, Yue, is also celebrated, as it is the coming of marrying age. After a performance by the Waterbending Master, Pakku, and his students by performing elaborate Waterbending moves for entertainment, Aang is introduced to Master Pakku. Aang is looking forward to Katara and himself learning Waterbending, after a few days' rest. Master Pakku is unimpressed with his work ethic, telling Aang that he will receive no special treatment just because he is destined to save the world. If he is interested in learning Waterbending, then they will be ready at sunrise.In the movie, they presented themselves to the Royal Court as Aang showed Princess Yue, Pakku and other members of the Northern Water Tribe council that he was the last Airbender and was accepted to train with Pakku. * In the series, after recognizing the two broadswords on Zuko's wall as the same ones used by the Blue Spirit to save the Avatar, Zhao hires pirates to assassinate Zuko. When Iroh informs Zuko that the crew wished him a safe journey, Iroh invites him for a nightly stroll to clear his head, but Zuko remains sulking in his room. While Iroh is out walking, the assassination plan is executed by the pirates, planting explosives in Zuko's ship and detonating them with him inside. In the film, Zhao knew straight away that Zuko is the Blue Spirit (based on the close-up of Zuko's lips while in Blue Spirit custome). When Zuko returned from his Blue Spirit exploits, Iroh told Zuko to rest in the ship. The explosion occured after a gas leak (which does not make sense as the ship is running on charcoal). *Katara is not shown fighting with Pakku, or earning the right to train along with the men in the tribe. The subplot of Katara’s grandmother and Pakku is completely cut out. The focus is on Aang and his training. Also, in the film, female benders of the Northern Water Tribe seem to be allowed to learn bending to fight, whereas in the series only men were allowed. Also, the entire subplot regarding Katara's necklace (later revealed to be Pakku's necklace for Kanna in the series) is removed. The Siege Of The North *The Northern Water Tribe knew the Avatar's arrival would bring great danger in the village, so they decided to plan their war strategies ahead of schedule, and assigned Sokka to be Princess Yue's bodyguard in the process. *In the film, Yue told Sokka her backstory during her date, whereas the backstory was told to the Gaang when the moon turned red in the series. While the series version emphasized on how the Moon spirit saved her life, the film version emphasized on why her hair is white. * In the series, The Fire Nation's massive armada prepares to attack the Northern Water Tribe at dawn. In the movie, they only started attacking at night. *Zuko sneaks into the Northern Water Tribe by just diving into the water at a random spot, as opposed to following a tigerseal because "they have to be coming up for air somewhere" like in the series. *The duel between Katara and Zuko in the film has a slightly different outcome. In the series, Katara initially defeats Zuko with her bending being enhanced by the nearly full moon, but then the sun rises, and Zuko defeats Katara, knocking her unconscious. In the film, Zuko defeats Katara, despite Katara's waterbending being at the peak of its power. Also, both of them wait for their turns to attack which is rather strange for a duel. *Near the climax of the film, after Zuko defeats Katara, he did not take Aang (whose body was left behind as Aang traveled to the spirit world), nor did he immediately sets off with his captive across the ice, leaving the battle between the Water Tribe and Fire Nation behind him. Instead, Zuko takes Aang and hides with his captive in one of the many buildings in the Northern Water Tribe. He decides to wait until nightfall to escape. It is not implied that his Firebending strength is linked to the sun. Also in the film, Aang's body was never left behind once he was in the spirit world, but he visited Fang when he was asleep. *In the series, Zhao learned about the Moon and Ocean Spirits of the Water Tribe and where their mortal incarnations could be found when he was a junior Lieutenant serving under General Shu in the Earth Kingdom at a vast hidden underground library, later revealed to be the library of the spirit Wan Shi Tong. In the film, it seems that Zhao and his men raided the said library only recently and the scrolls required deciphering. Also, the idea of killing the Ocean and Moon spirits is Ozai's and not Zhao's. * Aang never found out the identities of the Moon and Ocean spirits. When he was in the Spirit World, the dragon spirit simply asks Aang to "show the Fire Nation the power of water". *Aang only joined in the Northern Water Tribe battle with the Fire Nation after being rescued by Katara. In the series, he joined once the Fire Nation attacked, only to retire early because they are too many. It was then that he decided to seek guidance from the Moon and Ocean spirits. *When Zhao kills the Moon Spirit in the film, the moon turns red, whereas in the series the moon turned red when the Moon Spirit was captured, and disappeared altogether when it was killed. Also in the series, Zhao pulls the moon spirit out of the water and captures it in a bag. He pretends to show mercy and releases the spirit back into the pond. He then kills the moon spirit by firebending into the spirit pond. In the film, Zhao stabs the spirit with a knife once he captured it in a bag. *Right after the murder of the Moon spirit, Iroh unleashes his firepower as Zhao and the soldiers accompanying him escape. While he manages to defeat several soldiers in the series, he did not attack anyone in the movie. *In the series, Yue decides it is her duty to give the life she was given back to the Moon Spirit, despite Sokka’s protests. She places her hands on the fish, transferring her spirit, exhaling one last time and then falling back into Sokka’s arms – no longer alive. Yue's body disappears, and the white fish begins to glow, as Iroh places it back into the oasis. The fish begins to swim and the oasis glows, as the spirit image of Yue appears above the water to tell Sokka she will always be with him. Her spirit kisses Sokka one last time before becoming the Moon. In the film, it was Iroh who suggested to Yue to give her life, leaving her with no other choice. After kissing Sokka one last time, Yue gets into the oasis and the white from her hair seeps out and transfers to the fish and the moon goes back to normal. Yue's body never disappeared and she never became the Moon Spirit. *Zhao is not killed by the Ocean Spirit. Instead, four unnamed waterbenders killed Zhao by engulfing him into a water sphere, drowning him. *The ending to the show and movie are radically different; in the movie Aang does not merge with the Ocean Spirit and become Koizilla, instead he causes a tsunami that scares away the Fire Nation fleet. That was because in the film, it was the new Avatar rule, apparently; that "he was not meant to hurt others." While fans of the series know that as Aang's philosophy as an Air Nomad monk, this applies to all Avatars in the movie continuity. In the series, the Avatar must restore balance to the world even if it means hurting or killing others in return. After all, when Aang seeks guidance from his past lives in Sozin's Comet, Part 2: The Old Masters, they insist he must kill Fire Lord Ozai. *The ending of the movie (right before the Azula stinger) is notably different from the first season. In the series, Aang, Katara, Sokka, Appa and Momo all look out at the moon realizing they managed to ward off the Fire Nation and there is still hope to restore balance. In the movie, Katara and Sokka helped an exhausted Aang down the stairs into the courtyard. Aang saw the entire Northern Water Tribe waiting for him. They all knelt and bowed before him. The remaining Fire Nation soldiers left in the city also bowed, in awe of his power and moved by his act of mercy. Katara said, "They want you to be their Avatar, Aang. We all do", before she and Sokka bowed along side the others. Finally accepting his role as the Avatar, he bowed back. *Instead of returning in eight months, Sozin's Comet is due to return in three years time. In the film, Aang and his friends do not learn about Sozin's Comet, and the power it will bring to the Fire Nation. Instead, it was Ozai stating this right before giving a task to Azula. See Also *The Last Airbender *The Last Airbender 2 Category:Films